The present invention relates to electronics enclosures. More particularly, the invention pertains to an enclosure for electronic components which includes a hand-operable latch to facilitate removal of the enclosure cover.
Electronic equipment, such as telecommunication or computing hardware, typically comprises a plurality of printed circuit boards which are mounted within an environmental enclosure. Enclosures are required in an outdoor environment to prevent environmental elements such as rain, snow, sleet and flying debris from damaging the electronic components. For indoor applications, enclosures are used to prevent inadvertent damage to electronic components by people working in the vicinity of the enclosures. Additionally, enclosures are required to prevent removal of, or tampering with, electronic components by unauthorized individuals.
An illustrative electronics enclosure 5 is shown in FIG. 1. The enclosure 5 comprises a cover 10 and a housing 20. The cover 10 is designed for mating engagement with the housing 20 such that environmental elements cannot enter the enclosure 5 when the cover 10 is in a closed position as shown in FIG. 2. The cover 10 is coupled to the housing 20 via a plurality of hinges 25 to allow the cover 10 to be opened for repair, maintenance, or upgrading of the components inside the enclosure 5. At times, it is beneficial to completely remove the cover 10 to facilitate the work. In those instances where the cover contains a portion of the active electrical components, the time required to repair a failed unit can be reduced by changing out the cover. To permit such, the hinges 25 must be separable.
Referring to FIG. 2, the hinges 25 comprise a pin 27, pin lugs 29 and a socket 31. The pin lugs 29 are fixed to the housing 20 and secure the pin 27 firmly in place. The socket 31 is engaged with the pin 27 to secure the cover 10 in mating engagement with the housing 20. A locking mechanism 33 latches the cover 10 to the housing 20. As long as the locking mechanism 33 is engaged to latch the cover 10 in a closed position with the housing 20, the cover 10 will prevent materials from entering the enclosure 5. In order to remove the cover 10, the locking mechanism 33 is disengaged and the cover 20 is rotated beyond 180xc2x0 such that the open side of the socket 31 faces the housing 20. In this position, the cover 10 may be removed from the housing 20.
Although this design facilitates removal and installation of the cover 20, it has design drawbacks and introduces negative safety implications. Since the cover 10 must be rotated beyond 180xc2x0, this design sometimes cannot be used for wall mounts since, depending on the depth of the cover casting, it may not be possible to achieve such rotation. Another drawback with this type of design is that in certain mounting orientations, if the cover 10 inadvertently opens, the cover 10 will swing freely and separate from the housing 20. Since electronic enclosures 5, are often located above pedestrians, such as on telephone poles, buildings or CATV and telephone transmission lines, a falling cover 10 can create serious safety risks.
To address the safety concerns, another type of removable hinge 35 is often used. As shown in FIG. 3, this type of hinge 35 comprises two pin lugs 37, for securing the pin (not shown) and a socket 39. The socket 39 is fixed securely to the housing 40 with a bolt 41. As shown in the top view of the enclosure 34 in FIG. 4, the cover 42 cannot be removed from the housing 40 without removing each of the three bolts 41. Although this addresses the safety concerns of the design shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this design presents negative implications for technical personnel. Namely, technical personnel must have the proper tools for removal of the bolts 41. Additionally, this design increases the risk of dropping small parts such as the bolts 41, the sockets 39, the cover 42 or even the removal tools when servicing the electronics enclosure 34. Accordingly, this design is also undesirable.
Other designs which utilize blocking screws, xe2x80x9cbarrel nutsxe2x80x9d or enclosures with a cover retained permanently to the housing, are also subject to safety or servicing drawbacks.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an electronics enclosure design which facilitates separation of the cover from the housing quickly, without tools and without the removal of hardware from the enclosure. The latch should positively retain the cover to the housing in any orientation unless the latch is purposely activated by technical personnel.
The present invention provides an electronics enclosure including first and second clamshell components. Each component includes a hinge member and the components are hingedly coupled by engagement of the respective hinge members. A biased latch is attached to one of the clamshell components. It is moveable between a position aligned with a portion of the opposite hinge member and a second position nonaligned therewith. In the first position, the latch maintains engagement of the hinge members. In the second position, the hinge members can be disengaged and the clamshell components separated. In the preferred embodiment, one of the hinge members includes a pin and the other includes a pin receiving bore.